Police said the family was walking home around 8:15 p.m. Monday when they saw a group of white men and a woman standing by their apartment building.

The woman then allegedly signaled to a man, who stepped forward and pointed a black handgun at the father, who was holding a child in his arms.

Police said the gunman spoke to the man, but the family, who is from the Republic of Congo and Burundi, did not understand what he was saying and ran away.

No one was hurt.

Lt. Tim O'Malley of the Concord Police Department said police are trying to determine if the gunman targeted the family because of its race, because he said stickups on the street are rare in the capital city.

“They're very rare in Concord. It's hard to think of the last time we had an armed robbery on the street, involving a handgun. We've had them, but they're very infrequent,” said O’Malley.